"I don't want to see them spend money," Aubin said. "We'll let nature take its course."

Many in town, including Wing, acknowledge there's no permanent fix to stop erosion. She still supports the dune project, and expected even more sand to be used.

"Hopefully, the next step is the town wants to make up the difference and find out a way to do that," she said of the additional sand.

One option that the town is investigating involves moving sand from Cape Cod Bay onto the beach. In the more immediate future sea grass will be planted on the dune to stabilize it, and scientists will study where the sand goes once it washes away from the dune.